just to share some photos that i've managed to get, with some luck at the singapore f1 grand prix. it was the first time that i'm shooting motorsports and i have to admit its difficulty was nothing close to anything i've shot before. it was challenging in many aspects, but the results in some of the pictures, i thought were astonishing and to an extent, satisfying (considering it was my first time too!).

for a start, i was at the losing end. my beloved nikon d80 was nowhere near a professional dslr, my zoom lens is one of the cheapest in the market, and so is my external flash gun. moreover, standing during the races are not allowed, except for some parts of the grandstands, which would majority of the time then, be overly packed with desperate photographers like myself leaving latecomers with either blocked views or nothing left to shoot. personally, i hate crowds, so as much as possible, i tried to avoid them.

heh, so i guess you'd have to make full use of any and every opportunity that is available to you. as it is said, you're the master of surrounding elements. in other words, make use of every element to your advantage in making a good pic, even if it seems uncommon.

ambrose and i before the race at the marina aka ndp grandstand. directly behind of us is the actual track which the F1 cars would be racing through. the noise from a f1 car's engine is approx 130 db that is about the same, or even more than a fighter plane taking off... ultimate extreme! so practically every spectator had to have a pair of ear plugs. if not, none of those spectators behind us would even last a second there.

that's our buggy which we used to transport a casaulty with a severe bleeding palm from having it sliced across a railing, to the nearest a&e ambulance. however majority of the times, this buggy was there to collect our lunches and dinners which was virtually impossible to walk to due to the great distance. in doing so, it had to get through quite a distance on the race track which often found itself held up being halfway back with the food as the track was closed for the race cars.

ferrari fans. they were the first few to leave even before the end of the race, due to the team's tragic lost over the pit incident. real sad. those flags cost about S$120 too, if i remembered right.

skyline of the day time races. needless to mention, the weather was unforgiving and burning! the porsches seen on the track were moving through at speeds more than 160 km/hr.

mechanics doing their final checks on these porsches before the cars are brought out for their race.

porsche cars lined up and getting ready for their afternoon race - porsche carrera cup asia, as part of the f1 singapore gp programme.

finals in the porsche carrera cup asia, at turn 18. wahh, this is ultimate tailgate mann. i won't hesitate to !@#$ any driver who does this to me on the road i tell ya.

finals in the porsche carrera cup asia, at turn 18.

this car belonged to the singapore team, driven by gerald teo, a singaporean in the porsche carrera cup asia. he clinched third position in the finals. here, it just returned to the paddock for maintenance after the race.

an aston martin being pushed out of the paddock and onto the assembly area where it will take off for its race. thats how light it is!

aston martins in action. it was a race by the way, not trial runs.

taken inside the aston martin's paddock. we were granted access through this restricted zone. heehee.

these belong to the bmw formula 1. the yellow flag indicates an accident up ahead, hence upon passing it, all cars will have to slow down, form a line, and eventually follow the safety car which will cease to function on the race track when the accident obstacles are cleared.

bmw formula 1 cars at turn 14 (raffles grandstand). managed to sneak up to get a couple of shots before i was chased down. lol. worth it wasn't it?

heading for turn 18.

it was a mistake of forcus actually. but i thought it still makes a good and interesting shot doesn't it? haha.

fiat minis driven by hot italian chicks parading through the race course. haha. it was part of the highlights for the night before the actual f1 night races began. cute cars!

that's the safety car for the f1 event, a vehicle thats truely commendable on. it weighs as heavy as a normal car on the road, and has its aircon working inside (holds a driver, paramedic, doctor and nurse) which ultimately draws lots more power. however, this baby is expected to reach speeds as fast as a f1 car in order to maintain the high speeds, guide, and lead the cars when an accident occurs on the track. hot stuff!

LEWIS HAMILTON waving to crowds during the drivers' parade just before the finals on sunday night.

skyline of the singapore f1 gp night race finals. seen on the track is a car in the midst of the race.

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the below pics were taken with the panning technique (tracking the movement of the cars). hahh, it took abit of tries to get it right finally, which was extremely challenging considering the cars here were flying by at speeds of over 260km/h. though far from perfect, i was really happy with the results!